Hi all

I will be going to Kyoto and Osaka for 5 days in May and will touch down at KIX.

I  am currently quite confused over the rail options. Since I am going to Kyoto first, should I buy the ICOCA+Haruka cards or should I buy the Japan Rail Pass?

If I buy the JR pass, have to buy Haruka also to go to Kyoto by train?

going to fly again this nov. any pipul wanna be my model. perhaps just tokyo and around that.

Hi guys,

question on the tokyo 3 day pass.
I can get at wherever there is tokyo metro info counter right, but must bring along passport. am i correct?

[Foreign Tourist Information]
1. Tokyo Metro Tourist Information (9:15 to 17:15)
Ueno Station Tourist Information, Ginza Station Tourist Information, Shinjuku Station Tourist Information, Omote-sando Station Tourist Information
any suggestion what to do in ikebukuro?
plan to head there in the morning (9-1pm) and to (1pm-3pm) nakano broadway afternoon and (4pm-10pm) shinjuku mid noon till night

Hi all,

Group of 5 of us going to Japan in May from 19th-27th.

19th-21st Osaka
22nd-23rd Kyoto
24th-27th Tokyo

We're planning to take the Shinkansen from Kyoto to Tokyo.

Would like to know if it is necessary to make ticket reservations in advance or we could just buy it on the spot? Does it usually get fully sold out?

Just came back from a one week trip to tokyo.  It was a very good trip.  Highlights:

1.  Ueno park sakura viewing.  Was there for sakura.  Lucky to be able to catch it. 9 April night was there with lots of ppl having picnic there.  Also there was a carnival beside the garden selling food (pasar malam style).  Had oden.  Return on the 10th to view it in late afternoon and it's still very pretty.  Then return again on the 12th april and already lots of withering. 

2.  Weather in tokyo super nice.  Mostly around 13 to 18 deg.C.  Just a tshirt inside and a windbreaker outside will do for this weather.  Only one day it rained whole day on the 11th April.  Temp was 8 deg.C throughout the day.  Will need a fleece jacket for that day, but it's only one day that rained in the whole week there.

3.  Tsukiji market - going for tuna auction, i didn't book hotel the first night i arrive tokyo, went lepak at ueno, then ginza at those fancy cafe, then midnight walk over to tsukiji area.  Stopped at manga shop for 3 hours, 2.30am reached tsukiji to grab vest for tuna auction and there was only like 30 spots left.  By 3.30am all 120 spots filled.  Those who arrive later than 3.30am gg.  Packed inside the room for 3 hours like sardin very uncomfortable.  Will do not it again.  At least i got to witness the auction first hand.  Quite a spectacle.  The image of how the auctioneer shout is very fresh in my mind.

4.  Sushi at tsukiji - went to 3 places over 3 different days.  Sushai Dai-wa, is good, their rice is really spectacular.  But feel a bit rushed.  completed the meal in Dai-wa in about 30 mins then left.  Okame (the corner, same row) was not as good.  But very short queue.  However, Okame has the best chu-toro i tried this trip.  You can be very happy to just sit there and order like 8 chu-toro at one go.  It is that good.  The best for me was Yamazaki.  They don't rush.  I dine inside almost for an hour while queuing for 100 minutes.  Rice wise sushi dai-wa beats yamazaki, but fish wise yamazaki taste better.  Their oo-toro is so good.  I will go back to yamazaki.  Didn't try to go to sushi dai which is most famous.  Maybe in the future. 

5.  Other food at tsukiji - kitsune the beef don at tsukiji really good, must try.  The famous shoyu ramen at tsukiji can skip it, just slightly better than what we can get here.  The steamed egg at tsukiji dry market really nice, only 100 yen.  You can get cremia soft serve ice cream around tsukiji dry market, inside the air conditioned building, must go try it. 

6.  Kobe beef - tried kobe wahyu at satou steakhouse at kichijouji.  Best steak ever at a very reasonable price of 10,000 yen for 200grams.  In fact, i like the area, lots of bars around the area after dinner.  Recommend to have dinner here then join one of the bars around if you like alcohol (beer/japanese whiskey)

7.  Ramen - Ichiran ramen is good, had it twice.  But dont expect over the top, malaysia ippudo and bankara ramen already very good, ichiran is just slightly better with a slight twist due to their red sauce.  Tried the menya musashi tsukemen, also good, but just slightly better than what we get here.  Shoyu ramen at tsukiji also just slightly better and it's ok to skip it.

8.  ton kat su - tried the maisen tonkatsu around harajuku - the kurobuta pork and another house specialty breed that is limited servings per day - it's good but it's not super good.  I think it's ok to skip this place.

9.  pablo cheese cake and pablo cheest tart - very nice, i like the cheest tart more.  At akibahara.

10.  Manneken waffle - very nice as well

11.  Bakery stuff - i watched anime lemon pan was like so good, in reality, it's just so so.  I much prefer their croissant.  Very well made croissant.

12.  Udon with tempura - had this udon around shinjuku station, forgot the name, very nice.

13.  Shibuya - i didn't get to cover shibuya much this trip.  Had a beef katsu there, they gave you hot plate where you can sear your beef more yourself.  Taste so so, but i guess it's unique cause u get to cook your food.  I dont fancy cooking so not really for me.  Also stumble into another jap restaurant to avoid rain.  Had fried chicken and steamed pork.  Totally can give this place a miss.

14. Akibahara - anime place and sex shop.  Though i like anime and toys, this place to me is like a one time visit enough ady.  Just need to spend like half day to cover the place if you just want to see it and not hunting specifically for an item there. 

15.  Harajuku - cool hispter place.  Also just about 3 hours can cover most of the place if you just doing window shopping.  There's a vivianne westwood store here.  Worth checking out for the accessories.

16.  Nakano - went to nakano broadway mall.  Only come here if you like vintage stuff like train collection of the 70's, jap toys/figurines from 80s, vintage watches etc.  I will skip this place.

17.  ueno station - i think ueno is a gem.  I like this place.  Lots of shops and restaurant around.  If i go tokyo again i want to stay near to ueno

18.  Shinjuku - also very nice place like ueno.  Alot of place to go around for shopping and food.  If i go tokyo again i want to stay near to shinjuku

Tips:
1.  Just get suica card for travel.  So much more convenient.  Average per day I spent about 1000 yen on train.
2.  If you want to look for accomodation, i recommend places where you can walk to ueno station, shinjuku station or shibuya station. 
3.  Good walking shoes.  I wore my adidas NMD there and it's god sent.  It will be better if you wear adidas ultra boost.  There is alot of walking involved.
4.  Staff in yodabashi and bic camera speaks mandarin cause a lot of PRC ppl work there.  Bring visa card for added discount.
5.  Dont worry about having leftover coins.  At the end, just go back to airport and go buy some desserts.  Pay with whatever leftover coins you got, the remaining they will charge your card.  Good way to used up coins before you depart japan.
6.  When at train station, always ask the train office staff to confirm the train when you have even the slightest doubt.  They are so friendly and asking only takes less than 10 seconds.

Haha ya.  I go travel mainly for food.  I am too lazy to walk around for this view vs that view.  Usually the places i go for food got some views as well, so the view and scenery thing for me is a bonus.  If wanna cover all significant tourist spot will be very rush.  That's why i stayed 7 days only in Tokyo.  Take my time to experience diff parts of Tokyo at a slow pace.  Too fast and likely to miss alot of things.  Even so, i still feel that my last tokyo trip invovles too much walking.  Need to cut down walking time... and more time spend just lepak at one spot before moving on to the next spot.

Based on my research, train reservation only can be done when U r in Japan.
Yes, it can be purchase in advance. Fully Sold Out is possible but their train are quite frequent commute. This one full, take the next then.
hahaha... at least better than mine ^^

I covering Spring [Hokkaido] - Winter [Moduro] - Summer [Osaka]

My Plan: (verified with Japan Friend, workable)

What about JAL? A friend is going on 25th april, RM 600. Bought last week.

Around RM1k or slightly above RM1k inclusive of baggage, I think its a decent price hahaha. Not cheap, but still below standard price - can consider it!
RM600 return is dirt cheap, but I think you're referring to one way? I've not seen <RM1k offered by JAL for return.

Same. AA now cheapest, from May until September also got RM1089 price tag
I reckon is not the cheapest. There are chances that currently is the "peak season" of purchasing flight tickets. Let us wait until mid of May. I bought my Vietnam Airline ticket last year mid of May, RM1533 for two pax to Narita on Feb 2017.
Not to mention with the price might be slightly lower and inclusive of everything!

AAX for RM1.5k?? Nooooooooooooooo. I bought MAS-JAL for RM1.7k full board. Although abit pricey, it was a pleasant fly with JAL.
Which flight are you checking? Please tell when you found cheap flight!
So last time you flew via Vietnam Air to Tokyo? Its a transit flight right?

I flew with them for my Nagoya trip. It was really nice (although no personal screen for in-flight ent) although had to transit.
For 2 pax!!!! Its cheap!

Ah yes, same thing. It's similar flight if we're talking about Vietnam Air. Nagoya's one is the same as well, and I must say, their leg room is a lot more spacious than even MAS.
Yes please! Do create a group chat and PM  HP number to be added to the group - to whoever is keen
I'm okay with last minute - as long as its 2-3 months ahead. I'm more worried about getting my leave approved than the planning part. Especially Tokyo, I'm comfortable with it, so even if its 1 month before, I don't mind hahahahaha.
Hmmm Osaka is usually cheaper than Tokyo. Perhaps the distance is shorter?
Must bring USD or Vietnamese Dong. During our transit in Ho Chi Minh (KUL-HCM-NGY), there's about 2-3 hours and we saw a lounge to rest (chargeable). Can charge phone, get 2 free drinks, nap on the comfortable couch etc but we realized we didn't thought about bringing Dong or USD! Luckily one of our friend brought some USD as emergency cash HAHAHAHA and we forced him to use it.
3 months before is actually okay in my opinion. My airBnB host cancelled on me 2-3 weeks before I was due to arrive

hi i plan to have internet to my mobile phone during my trip to hokkaido

may i know sim card better or rent a pocket wifi ?

I was there with 2 other friends from SG.  One sg fella used the pocket wifi, the other sg fella used the pocket wifi provided by our airbnb host (for free), and I used the sim card.  There were times where the 3 of us split up to go diff place to see diff things.  Having the sim card which cost 2500 yen valid for 7 days is really good.  I will say best to have one pocket wifi and one sim card for any group above 2 ppl.  This will have the flexibility for ppl to split up and meet again later.

Hi Guys,

Have anyone experience driving car in Tokyo and Kyoto city?

Well my plan is to rent a car for entire trip, going to travel from Tokyo to Kyoto and back to Tokyo.

I know a lot of feed back saying that driving in city center is crazy and expensive, so my plan is to commute around with train for those busy city.
So quite sayang to pay the car rental for the car to sit in hotel 

I am also thinking about commuting with train only, however with traveling with young members and older one makes it difficult.

So i am still judging whether to go with car or not? As i did some rough calculation after some research, renting a car + toll + petrol + parking would be the same as taking the 2 weeks JR pass for 5 persons. 

Any advice from you all sifus would be greatly appreciated 

Hi all,

i would need advice from those go Hokkaido before ...

i still dilemma whether to go below places by train or rent a car ?

money is my dilemma ...

below is the details.

number of people - me and my gf only

1st day - stay sapporo and city tour

2nd and 3rd day - go to furano, Nakafurano, biei, Asahiyama Zoo - will stay 2 night

4th day - stay 1 night in otaru, need back to sapporo for the train to hakodate

5th day - stay 1 night in hakodate

6th day - back to sapporo for city tour

I hope u din tailor your trip in order to maximise JR. just like going to buffet.. u dun have to eat everything on offer or even eat until u r too full. Just saying....

Just came back from 3 weeks Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka-Nara-Kobe. The best time of my life.
Already planning to go again next year but not sure to re-visit Osaka-Kyoto, visit Hiroshima(Rabbit island), or go to Sendai(Tashirojima for the cats/Zao Fox Village).

Atm not planning to go to Hokkaido as I don't really like snow that much.
Will probably go during autumn or spring... really leaning towards spring tho.

Hi, can anyone that went to Japan share their itenerary with me?

Thanks alot !

Edit: for those that went to Kyoto

So as I understand, May is towards summer already right? Does it get warm enough that our normal clothes is enough during the day? Or is it still closer to Cameron Highlands kind of weather -  sometimes cool sometimes warm, so prepare jacket. (assuming Tokyo)

And since it's almost summer, if one has to pick between Tokyo or Kyoto, which is better suited for the weather?